A Sunday message:

‘Australia’s alcohol harm: Why should I care?’

Scripture readings:Luke 10: 30-37; 1 Cor 8:9-13;

Key Verses:

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him’. Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” (Luke 10:36-37)

“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Cor 8: 9)

Introduction

Today we address the question - ‘Why should I care about Australia’s alcohol culture?’ As a way in, consider what is the common factor in these vignettes – each of which is a true event?

  • In Alice Springs, a woman mourns the loss of six of her family members to alcohol related causes. Nearby, alcohol outlets soak up the weekly incomes of whole families.
  • A young man on his first night out in a major state capital is bashed and kicked by a drunken 16 year old for no apparent reason. His face hits the asphalt on a bridge, causing severe harm.
  • In Tasmania, young boys on a fishing trip are given a slab of alcoholic alcopops to drink unsupervised. One is burned seriously by falling into a campfire while intoxicated. At the time, no law had been broken, although this happened without parental permission or knowledge.
  • A woman and children cower as a drunken partner abuses and assaults them. The woman will seek shelter from The Salvation Army.
  • Within the space of a few weeks, Police Commissioners in Australia’s two largest states describe our alcohol culture as ‘out of control’, and ‘transforming’ (changing or mutating) to exploit a trend towards drinking specifically in order to become drunk.

What these vignettes have in common is that they show the human face of Australia’s unhealthy obsession with alcohol. We have a culture, a way of life, where alcohol related harm – is seen as normal, as inevitable. The historical reasons for this are an interesting study, but as Salvationists, our concern needs to be on tackling the problem. The Salvation Army has a long history of engagement with major social ills, and alcohol harm is one of the great issues of our time in this country.

It is easy to get lost in the statistics here. But consider:

  • Alcohol is the most widely used ‘psychoactive’ (mind altering) drug in Australia (National Alcohol Strategy).
  • Almost one in ten drinkers is ‘at risk’ or ‘at high risk’ of short and long term harm as a result of their drinking (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2010)
  • Significant harm occurs for many people who are not alcoholic. In 2007 the majority of Australians (60.8 %) over 14 years drank at levels in excess of NH&MRS guidelines. These guidelines have since been revised to reflect higher levels of risk at lower levels of consumption. (AIHW) 2008.
  • Over 450,000 children (13.2 percent) live in households where they are at risk of exposure to binge drinking by at least one adult (Dawe et al. 2007. ANCD).
  • Hospital records show increasing trends across Australia for underage drinkers (14 to 17 year olds) being admitted for alcohol-related problems. (Toumbourou, 2009).
  • Alcohol-related harm costs Australian taxpayers around $36 billion per year, roughly twice what was previously thought (AERF, 2010).That’s enough to buy ......

The Salvation Army has a stance of abstinence for full members (soldiers). This is not a requirement for associate membership (adherency). We welcome all people for worship and participation in our many open activities. This stance has come about essentially from serious reflection upon experience with those whose lives have been torn apart by the effects of alcohol. The Salvation Army responds on a daily basis not only to individuals, but the spouses, children, extended family and friends who are caught up in the wake of alcoholism, alcohol abuse, and various life degrading problems.

Such reflection is, however, informed by theological principles that have their basis in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The ‘Incarnation’ – the coming of God’s divine Son who was also wholly human - provides us with a holistic model that can shape our attitude to life in the world. Some important principles flow from this holistic focus. Let’s take a closer look.

The Incarnation – ‘God in the Flesh’

The early church held a number of key conferences (councils) of leaders to refine and affirm core aspects of Christian faith. The Incarnation of Jesus – His coming to this world as both God and man - was reaffirmed at such a council at Chalcedon in 451 CE. Acknowledging that the divine and human natures were united in the person of Jesus Christ, the Church went against the grain of some who did not acknowledge that ‘matter’ (the physical) really matters, and more particularly that the body matters. The Gnostics, for example, viewed the body as a prison house of the soul, with little value, something to be finally overcome at death, and left behind as the soul returns to the spiritual realm from whence it originated. Christians believe in a final resurrection, where redemption includes the body. Indeed, according to Paul, the entire cosmos is destined to reflect the glory of God(Romans 8: 18-23).

The Incarnation of Jesus is a constant reminder to Christians that every aspect of human life matters. The spiritual must always be worked out in terms of our physical and material reality. Spiritual wholeness and physical wholeness and wellbeing are not to be treated in isolation, but must be considered together.

Principles flowing from the incarnation and a holistic approach to life

Some important principles flow from this understanding of the Incarnation.

Principle 1: We work towards both personal and social wholeness

We are a Salvation Army. Our vision of ‘salvation’ covers spiritual, physical, psychological and social dimensions of life. While this holistic vision may not have been entirely clear to, or consistently held by, our founder William Booth, the seeds of a broad redemptive theology can be seen quite early in his writings (such as In Darkest England and the Way Out).

Wherever the Salvation Army is active there is a desire to see people redeemed in every area of life. As an example, consider the work of our dependency programs and the men and women completing these. These programs help people address spiritual, physical, psychological, and interpersonal dimensions of their life. It is a wonderful tonic to sit in on one of our program meetings and hear young men and women share their stories, testifying to a growing sense of wholeness in their lives as broken souls, minds, bodies and relationships are restored.

Our abstinence stance on alcohol comes from recognising that within our culture, alcohol is a major obstacle to many experiencing any level of wholeness in their lives. Not only are there the effects to the individual that we see as the result of say, binge drinking, and the real risk of becoming addicted to alcohol, but there are the effects to society. These occur when an intoxicated individual gets behind the wheel and causes the death of others on the road, a family goes hungry because money has been spent on drink, or perhaps an innocent baby bears the destructive effects of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

As did the prophets in the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament), we consider it our responsibility to take a stand against anything that would prevent people from experiencing wholeness in their lives. This is a truly radical stance, not a conservative one. It puts the welfare of others even before our own freedom, for Jesus’ sake.

Principle 2: We speak and act on behalf of the poor and marginalised - those without power or a voice.

The Salvation Army has always been concerned with the insignificant, with speaking on behalf of those without the power to stand up for themselves against the interests of the strong and powerful. The young person who is drawn to alcohol through peer pressure and the power of massive advertising budgets, with pro-alcohol messages absorbed even during sporting events broadcast in children’s viewing hours, is not in a position of maturity nor of power. S(he) needs sound information and guidance to counter such influence. More than that, policy which allows such exemptions during children’s viewing times can be challenged. The Aboriginal community racked by the effects of alcohol abuse needs ‘someone’ to challenge the powerful business interests who benefit financially from this misery. Those caught up in broken marriages and families where alcohol abuse is so often implicated need ‘someone’ to speak on their behalf - and to model a genuinely alternative lifestyle.

In the past alcohol harm was viewed as a moral, then a medical problem. Alcohol abusemust be treated as a social justice issue because alcoholism and other effects are a social phenomenon with definite winners and losers, subject to manipulation by the rich and powerful. The present unspoken social contract which allows this must be challenged for the sake of those who now, and in the future, will suffer under that contract – the ‘lowest, the least and the lost’.

The Salvation Army does not deny that many in our society are able to drink responsibly. Neither do we deny that drinking alcohol in moderation can be pleasurable. We do challenge, however, the idea that any person can truly be certain when they take their first alcoholic product that they will not be drawn into the destructive cycle of alcohol abuse. Whatever the causes of alcohol abuse, whether they be behavioural, psychological, genetic or a complex combination, it cannot be denied that for each person who starts down the path of alcohol consumption, there is a genuine risk(about one drinker in ten) that such consumption will eventually lead to alcohol abuse with destructive personal and social implications.

Nor will we fail to challenge the notion that the enormous range of alcohol related harms which are evident in our country must be seen as ‘acceptable’ or ‘inevitable’. Christian duty demands that we speak on behalf of our brothers and sisters who have taken the risk, who have thrown the dice and lost, and now suffer the consequences. Duty also demands that we speak on behalf of those yet to take the riskwho may well lose the gamble and suffer the consequences.

As well as assisting those already experiencing harm, our ministry and witness can be successful in deterring one person at a time from ‘throwing the dice’. That may result in one marriage, one family, one community saved from the ravages of alcohol abuse. We believe that our ministry – including our witness of abstinence – can also influence legislators to make or change laws to benefit those who bring harm to themselves and others.

Salvationists, and particularly those who become full members (soldiers), abstain from alcohol (and from other harmful drugs) not as the stance of a ‘wowser’ or someone of puritanical, killjoy bent. Rather, their abstinence is a radical and prophetic witness for and on behalf of those who suffer from the effects of alcohol abuse. To this end, Salvationists seek to model a life without alcohol that is full and rich.

Principle 3: We need to be actively concerned for our neighbour – including the ‘weaker brother’ – even at our own cost.

Our ministry of compassion to those affected by alcohol is very much a response to the example set by Christ in calling us to love our neighbour. We are actively concerned for our neighbour because Christ calls us to be so. This is why we care for the alcoholic, while also remembering that many non-addicts will also suffer great harm as a result of alcohol. Around sixty percent of alcohol marketed in this country is consumed in a risky manner.

A profound example capturing theprinciple of ‘total care for others’ is found in the story of the Good Samaritan told by Jesus himself (Luke 10: 30-37). A Jewish traveller had been mugged by robbers and left for dead. Two religious fellow countrymen passed by on the other side of the road without lending a hand. Finally, it was not one of his own, but a despised Samaritan who came to the rescue. In the action of the Samaritan, we witness both justice and compassion. We know nothing of the man after he was rescued by the Samaritan, if he was a responsible or irresponsible person, or anything else. All this is really irrelevant to the story. We are called to show compassion because it is the right thing to do.

Further, being actively concerned for our neighbour – whether they be particularly marginalised or not - means that we will not do anything to cause a ‘weaker’ brother or sister to stumble. The Apostle Paul well understood that Christians are freed people. Christians are no longer bound by the law but have been freed by grace. This does not mean we are free to do as we please. While we are freed to live lives to the full, we are also responsible for how our life choices may affect others. As a principle, I may be free to drink alcohol. But if my activity has a detrimental effect, then I have a responsibility to carefully temper my own freedom so that no harm will come to the other.

Paul. states this principle in in two of his letters. He says ‘We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path... ’(v1) despite enormous personal hardship. This is spelled out further in his discussion of the eating of meat offered to idols (1 Cor 8). Here, Paul explains the notion that a Christian may choose to forgo something which is of no objective harm to themselves whatsoever, for the sake of someone else. I am my brother or sister’s keeper. If drinking alcohol causes another to stumble and fall – and there is a definite proportion of people for whom this will be the reality - then I choose not to drink alcohol. Historically this has been a powerful reason why those called Salvationists have chosen to be alcohol free. Further, whether we abstain or not, there is much that we can do to reduce alcohol harm around us. SACi exists to facilitate action by Salvationists against alcohol harm of all kinds. You are encouraged to explore this further.

It’s about justice

Many Australian Salvationists are very active in worthwhile social justice campaigns, targeting abuses such as human slavery or supporting fair trade. All Salvationists are challenged not to turn a blind eye, or to shrug and do nothing, concerning the cluster of life degrading problems associated with our nation’s abuse of alcohol. Easy acceptance of the abuse of alcohol is deeply engrained in our national culture. The Salvo Alcohol Culture Initiative (SACi) offers definite ways in which this culture can be challenged at both local and national levels. Jesus does not leave us the option of not caring for our brothers and sisters. He calls us to radical discipleship – even when this takes us on pathways where people will not immediately praise us – and may even call us wowsers or worse.

Alcohol: sacred cow, cash cow, idol?

A final thought: The Hebrew prophets railed powerfully against ‘idolatry’. Whether named Baal or something else, anything which is seen as more important than God is, in scriptural terms, an ‘idol’. A case can be made that in our culture, materialism, power, prestige or sexare all at times treated as idols. The privileged place afforded alcohol products in our country suggests this is also treatedas an ‘idol’ - something of overwhelming importance, even more important than God. Upon any fair assessment, Australia has an unhealthy obsession with alcohol. Is this not close to a form of national idolatry, deeply engrained in our culture, and in need of redress, given the harm which results?

‘Why should I care about Australia’s dangerous alcohol culture?’ Because of the harm done, and because our Lord requires that we care for others – even at some cost to ourselves.